Magazine springs

[Gondo]

I am just curious, I know it is not wise to leave the magazine fully loaded on a pump shotgun for extended periods of time. I have heard that it can reduce the tension of the spring. I was just wondering if the spring can regain its tension if the gun is unloaded and left for a long period of time, or is the spring just compressed and stays that way.
Thanks for any thoughts,
gondo

 

[steveracer]

Nonsense. This does nothing to the strength of the spring. Do your car's springs stop working if you garage your car for a few years?

 

[rcmodel]

+1

Springs wear out from use, or compression cycles.
Not from staying compressed.

No, they don't grow strong again once weakened.
No, you can't stretch them and make them strong again.
Once the spring has lost strength from repeated cycling, stretching it deforms the steel beyond the yield point, and makes them weaken again more, even faster.

What you need to be more worried about is leaving plastic hull shells in a magazine for a long time.

They have been known to deform / mushroom enough from the spring pressure to make chambering difficult or impossible.

rc

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

What you need to be more worried about is leaving plastic hull shells in a magazine for a long time.

They have been known to deform / mushroom enough from the spring pressure to make chambering difficult or impossible,

How long? A shotgun kept for home defense and not shot regularly does just that.

 

[steveracer]

^ this about shotgun shells. The only reason I don't load all the way up in a tube mag. Not the spring, but the shells. (in the house gun)

 

[Gondo]

Thanx,

Thank you folks for the info. That's exactly what it is. It's a house gun that stays loaded for long periods of time. I'll not load it fully from now on.
Thanks again,
Gondo

 

[rcmodel]

And change out the shells once and a while too.

Your steel spring can't recover, but plastic hulls can!

rc

 

[oneounceload]

Change out the shells by SHOOTING them so you stay proficient with THAT gun

 

[Fred Fuller]

Magazine springs are relatively inexpensive and spares should be kept on hand. I prefer Wolff (http://www.gunsprings.com/index.cfm?page=items&cID=4&mID=137). Swapping out a magazine spring every so often is no big deal.

Even a shotgun is not a talisman that will keep evil away by its mere presence. Not even if it's loaded. SHOOT IT! Shoot it empty every so often and reload it with fresh ammo. It needs the exercise, and you need the practice.

Cramming every possible round into a defensive shotgun and hoping that will be enough ammo is just as much a mark of wishful thinking as assuming that your magic talisman shotgun will exude bad guy repellent rays and can thus be left dusty and loaded and shoved in a closet corner for years at the time. LEARN TO LOAD THE THING ON THE FLY and worry less about putting a 12 round magazine extension on it, cramming that full and chambering a round as well. If you want extra rounds available, find a convenient way to keep them on the gun - a Sidesaddle or butt cuff or whatever.

Stay Safe...